On November 25th, 2017 nearly 100 people gathered in a tiny church in Tantallon, Nova Scotia, near Peggy’s Cove. Those in attendance included people from the community and other churches as well as students and faculty from nearby Sandy Lake Academy (SLA). They came together for an evening of music to raise funds for ADRA Canada.

Young children to seniors performed everything from choral to multi-instrument pieces. Among them were The Country Side of Bluegrass, a local band who are members of nearby Williams Black United Church; the Music Director at SLA, Kristii Rasmussen, and many SLA students. Eleventh-grader Justin Graça played his cello. Heidi and Katya McBeth, ages 5 and 11 respectively, played their violins. Five-year-old Nia Wilson sang.

This year, funds were raised for Rohingya refugees, a “stateless” minority described as one of the most persecuted in history. Since 2015, the Rohingya have fled by the thousands into Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, where they hope to receive humanitarian support. In the beginning of August 2017, 600,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh. The funds raised were designated to help these most recent refugees.

Now in its third year, the annual Tantallon Concert continues to make a difference through its support of ADRA’s work abroad. This tiny church raised $1,180 in one very special evening.